Sir William Hillary, Bt - Douglas Head, Isle of Man - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

The near life-sized statue of Sir William is cast in bronze and is the work of local sculptor Amanda L. Barton of Kirk Michael. The statue stands on a rectangular concrete slab contained within a rectangular concrete enclosure filled with loose Manx stones. The Statue depicts Sir William wearing a heavy full-length coat/cloak the collar of which he has gripped in both hands held close to his chin. He is looking out into the bay towards the Tower of Refuge. In front of the statue and slightly to his left is a large irregularly shaped stone boulder mounted on to which is a rectangular plaque with the following inscription:

'SIR WILLIAM HILLARY, Bt.
THIS STATUE WAS UNVEILED ON 21st SEPTEMBER 1999 BY H.R.H. THE PRINCE MICHAEL OF KENT K.C.V.O.
IN THE PRESENCE OF MEMBERS OF THE DOUGLAS CORPORATION.

SIR WILLIAM HILLARY, 1771 - 1847

FOUNDER OF THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTIUTION.
A SOLDIER WHO WAS CREATED A BARONET ON 8th NOVEMBER 1805 FOR HIS SERVICES TO KING AND COUNTRY.
HE SETTELED AT FORT ANNE, DOUGLAS IN 1808
WHERE HE WITNESSED A LARGE NUMBER OF WRECKS ON THE ROCKS IN DOUGLAS BAY.

HE DIED ON 5th JANUARY 1847 AND IS BURIED AT ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, DOULGAS.

"FOLLOWED TO THE GRAVE BY CROWDS WHO HAD WITNESSED HIS HEROISM AND SELF-DEVOTION IN SAVING THE LIFE OF MANY A SHIPWRECKED
MARINER"

THE UNIQUE TOWER OF REFUGE IN DOUGLAS BAY WAS PLANNED BY HIM IN 1832 TO SAVE LIFE AND IS A FITTING AND LASTING MEMORIAL.

"SON TROAILTEE-VARREY AYNS DANJEYR"

THIS STATUE OF SIR WILLIAM HILLARY BY AMANDA L. BARTON OF KIRK MICHAEL WAS COMMISSIONED BY GRAHAM FERGUSON LACEY OF
BISHOPSCOURT AND DONATED BY HIM TO THE BOROUGH OF DOULGAS.

IT WAS ERECTED ON DOUGLAS HEAD AT THE EXPRESSED WISH OF THE MAYOR OF DOUGLAS, MR. COUNCILLOR JOHN MORLEY, J.P.
WHO DIED ON 3rd SEPTEMBER 1999.'


'Sir William Hillary (1771-1847)
Founder of RNLI
Heroic rescuer of shipwrecked mariners, he founded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and was behind the building of the Tower of Refuge.

A Yorkshireman by birth, William Hillary came to the Isle of Man in 1808 and eventually established a home at Fort Anne, overlooking Douglas Bay. This was an ideal vantage point from which to appreciate the dangers faced by sailors in the treacherous Irish Sea. HillaryW.png

In 1822, Hillary took charge of the rescue of 97 men from the Royal Navy cutter Vigilant, which had been blown aground on the Conister Rocks as she tried to leave Douglas in a storm. This, and the subsequent sinking off Langness of the brig Racehorse, led him to write to the Admiralty in London seeking pensions for the families of three Manxmen who had died saving the Racehorse crew, and proposing the formation of a National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck.

After being advised that it would be better to make the venture a philanthropical one, Hillary eventually succeeded in launching his National Institution with King George IV as Patron. His organisation later became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Hillary was also instrumental in the building in 1832 of the Tower of Refuge on the Conister Rocks, to provide shelter for any seamen whose ships run aground there; none have done so since that day, but the tower remains as his main memorial.'
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